Inscriptions
by Ayumu Foxtail-chan
Summary: In a world where humanity's ties with Pokémon are severed, Misty Waterflower approaches her eighteenth birthday. Making the career choice of a Hunter, she sets off on a path and an adventure she could've never bargained for, forming a rivalry with a group whose ambitions are unknown, only made more complicated by her Inscription, a mark given to her and others by fate itself.
1. Start

**Hello there! Welcome to my story! This started off as a one-shot... and then turned into a really long one-shot... and then finally I broke down and it turned into a multi-chap. Haha! XP**

**Yes this _is _an AU, and yes there _are _going to be shippings. Poke, Contest, Ikari, and LeafGreen/OldRival are going to be the main ones, however there will be littler ones making appearances, such as Ferriswheel and Kalos and such. XD**

**A great big happy (half) birthday to my good friend Misty Ketchum97! I know how much you like Pokeshipping! This one's for you, girl!**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy! :D**

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_I've been told that the world we live in is different than the one generations before us. My mother used to reminisce about her own childhood and how the world had changed since then. She told me that people and Pokémon used to work side-by-side; she said that Pokémon were kept as pets sometimes and to trainers they were sacred partners. She told me about a League system they had and about Gyms and badges. The world she grew up in sounds wonderful, at least to me._

_It's hard to fathom though, the way we live now. Mother said technology boomed in the past few decades and that's why everything started to change. Our cities look a lot different, she said. The rusty-colored skyscrapers and bright neon blue sidewalks used to be brick buildings and pavement. She said it all felt futuristic, like we'd been thrown into the future one day and never realized it._

_The biggest difference was of course the Pokémon. No one had Pokémon anymore, no one even saw Pokémon anymore. Mother said science had hit a point about fifteen years ago where they could re-create the powers that Pokémon alone used to be able to produce. Thunderbolt, Flamethrower, Hydro Pump; she said they all used to be Pokémon's moves but science had given them to us humans in a metal casing instead of in a warm, furry body. She said that that was when everyone was forced to release their Pokémon and that that was the last time humanity was connected to Pokémon. Then they severed ties and split, the two races taking different paths._

_She said everything had gone haywire since then. Gyms were shut down, Leagues were demolished, and the new system was put into action. We were trained now, since birth, that all we needed was technology. All we needed was the metal vessels the leaders gave us, not Pokémon, and with that we could survive and make a living._

_We took jobs now, starting at the age of 18. If you were even a day late in picking your career you were punished. No one knew what the punishment was, but rumor had it that it was brutal. These punishments were administered for other rule breakings too, anywhere from robbing a bank to clocking in late at school and you were punished. It was a strict society, but it ran well and no one questioned it._

_Mother said other systems had been set into motion the day the Pokémon were let free. The region said it was to make things "easier" and to run faster and more efficiently. Mother said that the inscription every young adult received on their eighteenth birthday had never existed when she was younger, nor did the ever-running clock every baby was given at birth, telling exactly how long they had before they'd die._

_I was born before the clocks came around. I consider myself lucky; I wouldn't want to know when I was to die._

_The system had changed since she was little, Mother said, but some things hadn't. There was always opposition, she said. Opposition and those that refused to abide by the rules. She spoke of these people as if they were saviors, and only recently did I find out that our family was considered one of these rule breakers. My mother had kept her team of Pokémon, despite the order to free them. She said that they taught children and adults alike valuable lessons, and that going without them was a crime._

_I hadn't realized how much she risked by keeping them, but she thought it was worth it. She said that her team was worth more than her life, and in the end, that was what she had ended up losing._

_My three sisters and I were raised in a household that believed Pokémon were things to love, not ostracize; still to this day I believe that Pokémon are good, and that maybe one day they can help us revert back to the magical-sounding world Mother had talked about. I believe it and I'm willing to fight for it._

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_**Chapter 1: Start**_

"Wow," Misty squeaked, craning her neck and trying her best to see the top of the building. She couldn't do it; it was just too high. Her eyes wandered back down the building to the small black letters engraved into the side of the pure metal structure. It glinted in the sun brightly, reflecting everything back like a crystal clear mirror.

'Department of Services' it said.

Misty snorted lightly to herself. That was rather generic; they could've called it something more explanatory. It'd taken her nearly an hour to find it; the letters could be bigger as well.

Misty Waterflower found herself on the day before her eighteenth birthday and without a job. Her older sisters had poked and prodded her her entire seventeenth year to pick out a career, but Misty had been stuck. Should she choose a job like a lifeguard? She loved water and being a lifeguard was a job that nowadays didn't require much work, due to the fact that the pool immediately began to drain if it sensed someone thrashing about. She'd be bored senseless if she took a job like that.

Next she wondered if she should become some sort of marine scientist. She'd always been fascinated by the creatures in the sea, as well as what technology the sea provided, but after reading all of the math classes she'd need to take before she could start, she realized she'd never have enough time to take all of the prerequisites before her eighteenth birthday; she'd missed her chance. And even though she still wasn't quite sure what the penalty was for not having a job at the age of eighteen, she was pretty sure she didn't want to find out.

So, after countless hours of reading, groaning, yelling, and frustration, Misty had finally settled on her job choice. When she told her sisters she'd decided to become a bounty hunter, they'd all three spit out their morning coffee in tandem.

Misty hadn't been sure about the career at first, but as she read more and more about what it would entail she found her mouth curving into a smile and her heart pitter-pattering excitedly in her chest. She wanted a job with some physical grit, and that's what she'd get being a bounty hunter. Not only that, but Hunters –as they were called for short- were the number one recipients of the metal vessels with the power of Pokémon.

Misty had been more than fascinated by them, and the prospect of working with a vessel every single day was just about more than she could handle. In the end, it'd been what made her decision final.

Bounty hunters were also one of the most prided and looked up to professions in the Kanto region. The heads of the region seemed to take great pride and excitement in their crop of Hunters, so Misty figured that at least she'd get a decent salary, even if the vessels turned out to be something not as exciting as she'd hoped.

And so, on the day before she turned eighteen she found herself in front of the gigantic mirror building, inside of which would be the man, the paperwork, and the uniform that she'd receive to start her first job. She was nervous, yes, but excited.

With a deep breath she pushed forward, stepping into the realm of the automatic doors as they quickly skidded to the sides in her presence. The cool air of the building hit her full-force, blowing her hair back behind her as quiet and slow music drifted into her ears. If she'd thought the outside of the building was impressive, the inside was magnificent.

She once again craned her neck, her eyes bugging and her mouth falling ajar as she saw once again she couldn't see the ceiling. The middle of the building was completely hollowed out and she swore she could see at least fifty stories up. There was a long shining metal staircase which wrapped around the inside of the building, spiraling up and out of sight with doors to rooms unknown branching off of the staircase every few feet. The entire atmosphere of the building was dark, maroon and purple being the colors of choice for everything from walls to doorknobs.

"There has to be a hundred doors just on the first several floors," she breathed to herself. She had no idea where they led, but her inner child wanted to run up the staircase, poking her head inside of each and finding exactly what this building held.

A loud, "Ahem!" brought her out of her thoughts and she quickly shut her gaping mouth, swallowing and bringing her attention back onto the situation at hand. The building was beyond posh, and wonderful, and she was really contemplating running up the staircase and opening all of the doors but she refrained. It smelled like sugar and flowers, and she finally spotted why when she found the person who had interrupted her.

Behind a wooden desk smack dab in the middle of the floor was a small and stout man with a full brown beard and a completely bald head. He had a box of donuts and a jar of lilacs on his desk and they were what was making the entire bottom level smell like some weird pastry shop. He adjusted his tiny round spectacles and held out a hand to motion Misty over.

She jolted to life, quickly scampering over to his desk, her tennis shoes squeaking awkwardly on the dark purple tiled floor. Only then did she realize exactly how quiet it was. Aside from the soft music and her squeaky shoes, she couldn't hear a peep. With all of the doors she expected some sort of noise, even if it was people entering and exiting them.

"Hello young lady," the man piped up once she'd stumbled her way to his desk. He gave her a small smile, again adjusting his glasses. "What can I do ya for?"

"Oh!" Misty exclaimed, clearing her throat. She'd nearly forgotten why she was here in her marveling. "I was told this is where I apply for a job?"

"Ah yes," the man said, rummaging around in the file folders he had hanging in a stand off to the side of his desk. "What's your name?" he asked, plucking a piece of paper out of one folder and smacking it down onto his desk.

"Misty Waterflower," she answered.

He grabbed a pen and scribbled her name onto the top line. The minute he'd finished the last 'r' the other blanks on the paper began to glow a bright neon green, some otherworldly force filling them in with impeccable cursive. When the words had dimmed the man nodded. "Misty Waterflower, birthday June 9th, currently seventeen years of age and unemployed. Has completed all former levels of schooling with high grades and acclaims." He nodded again as if he was truly impressed. "Well then, dear, what job will you be taking?" His eyes shined excitedly as he leaned forward and looked up at her in anticipation.

Misty took a deep breath. This would be her fate; rarely if ever were citizens allowed to change their profession once they'd started. "Bounty hunter," she breathed.

The second to last blank on the forum then glowed bright, just like the others had. She watched as the ink appeared out of nowhere, slowly inscribing 'bounty hunter' onto the line before dimming again.

The small man clapped his tiny hands excitedly. "Splendid! What a wonderful career choice Ms. Waterflower!" Misty nodded. It wasn't just the higher-ups in the region who took a shine to Hunters; nearly everyone in the region seemed to adore them. "Alrighty then, if you could just sign here," the man said, swiveling the paper around to face her and handing her the same pen he'd used.

Misty leaned down and placed the pen to the paper, quickly scribbling away her signature before handing the pen -which had been uncomfortably warm in her hands- back to the small man. He took it from her and placed it on his desk, grunting as he shoved out his fancy-looking maroon plush chair and stood up. He snatched the paper with a smile, nearly dancing around the desk and over to Misty. She realized just how small he really was when he made it around to her, his shiny bald head only just barely reaching her shoulders.

He rolled the paper up into a cylinder and whipped out a small piece of string, tying it around the scroll and into a pretty bow. The paper then sprung to life, shooting out of his hands and floating in the air in front of Misty's face for a second before shivering and flying up and out of sight.

"Where did it go?" Misty squeaked. She'd been witness to all kinds of tools that the "science" of Pokémon had given Kanto, but she had also heard of all kinds of types that citizens had never seen before, types that only the government and leaders used.

"Oh, it's just going up to filing, that's all. It'll be up there for the entirety of your time working. Say, what's the count on your clock? How long will we have the pleasure of being your employer?" he smiled up at her and she shook her head.

"I was born too early; I don't have a clock." Once again she was grateful. Sometimes she knew of adults who were given meaningless jobs simply because they were destined to die at a young age and the employers didn't see a reason for hiring them for anything more meaningful.

The man tsked. "Too bad. Ohwell! It doesn't really matter! You have an outstanding record so I'm sure you'll be around and with us for a long time!" His words weren't very reassuring. The man then snapped his fingers and the door closest to the ground level swung open, revealing a teenaged boy with unruly brown hair.

The boy's eyebrows flew up before he nodded, jogging out of the room, closing the door behind him, and skittering down the few steps to the ground.

"We have a Hunter!" the stout man exclaimed. The teenaged boy's mouth curved into a smile.

"Really? We haven't seen a volunteer for a while." He held out his hand. "Hi, I'm Tracey, the Professors' assistant, the Department's assistant, Joel's assistant," he said, motioning to the stout man, "and pretty much everyone else's assistant too." He let out an awkward laugh. "I'm really busy." Again he laughed although it seemed to Misty like he was on the verge of collapsing.

She took his hand, shaking it once. "Hi, I'm Misty Waterflower."

Tracey smiled and the small man, apparently named Joel, spoke up again. "Alright, now that the introductions are over and done with, Tracey, would you take her up to her post, please? They'll explain everything to her there."

Tracey nodded. "Sure thing; let's go," he said, nodding for Misty to follow him. She gave Joel a quick nod of thanks as he gave her a tiny wave. She jogged after Tracey as he started up the grand silver staircase, taking the steps two at a time until he realized she was falling behind.

His pace slowed and he looked back over his shoulder. "What made you want to be a Hunter? We don't see many girls taking that job."

Misty panted. She wasn't used to stairs; she'd lived in a one-floor condo for her entire life and so even a few dozen really took it out of her. Man, she'd need to start working out more if she planned on becoming any good at her job; Hunters were known for their physical strength and endurance. "It sounded… interesting," she said, peering down over the railing and shivering at the height. They'd only been climbing for a minute or so and yet she was already around a few hundred feet up.

Tracey shrugged. "Yeah, I guess some find it interesting. Anyway." Tracey stopped abruptly, pulling open a door on his left and reaching in an arm. Someone appeared to hand him something and he shut the door behind him. "Here," he said, handing a stack of fabric down to Misty.

"Oh," she squeaked, taking the clothing and nearly dropping the tiny scroll of paper on top. "What's this?"

Tracey began his climb again. "Well, the clothes are your uniform, and the paper on top is just some information for you before you start training tomorrow. Although, you will be meeting your team today."

"Eh?" Misty peeped. "Team?"

Tracey peered back down at her. "Y-yeah, all Hunters have a team… did you not know that?"

"W-what?" Misty laughed, although it was easy to see through her façade. "Y-yeah, I knew that! Everyone knows that." She clenched her jaw. She hadn't even started yet and she was already in the dark on some things; she really should've read that pamphlet on Hunters more thoroughly.

Tracey chuckled and she slouched. Yep, he'd called her bluff. "Don't worry," he said. "That paper will tell you everything, plus, if your teammates are nice, they'll clue you in on some stuff too."

Before Misty had the chance to ask any of the seemingly hundreds of questions floating around in her head he'd stopped again.

"Here we are!" He turned to another door, yanking it open and motioning her inside. Misty barely caught the door before it closed and quickly slipped inside. The door shut with an unnerving click and Misty once again was surprised by her surroundings. Everything was metal, the floors, the walls, the ceiling, all of it. It looked like pipes in some places, other places looked like circuit boards, and some looked like the front of a car's grill. Tracey clanked forward on the metal and looked down one of the three hallways branching off of the small metal box-room. As far as Misty could tell the hallways were all made of metal too. What kind of place was this?

It was dark, but green-ish glowing lights seemed to peer out through any cracks and crannies in the metal, giving the air an odd neon tint. Misty could hear deep chugging noises along with high pitched scrapes and hisses. She couldn't even begin to guess what was making the sounds.

"Alright, it should be down here. If I remember right team 2E is on security duty." Tracey then took off down the hall in a jog again and Misty struggled to keep up, having to hold the scroll of paper on top of her uniform with her chin to keep it from rolling off. He sure was a busy assistant if he insisted on nearly running everywhere. "Yep!" he called, halting in front of doorframe without a door.

Misty peered inside of the room when she'd caught up. Everything was still made of metal, but on one side of the room was a wall of tiny screens, all displaying a different image. Beneath the screens was a panel of numerous buttons and levers and things that sparked. Misty was positive she didn't want to touch that board; she could see herself accidentally causing a fire in an instant.

But the thing that really caught her eye and made her heart rate quicken, were the two humans inside of the room, one standing at attention, watching the screens with eagle-like precision, and one lazily swiveling around in a rolling chair.

"Here's team 2E, your new assignments," Tracey said happily. "Now, you all get acquainted; I have… so much to do." Tracey slumped over, dragging himself back down the hallway they'd just jogged up and out of sight.

Misty took another deep and steadying breath before officially stepping into the room.

"You're a girl!" The figure in the chair sprung upright, jumping out of her chair and crushing Misty in a hug. "Thank Arceus!"

"U-Um," Misty stumbled. "Hello to you too?" she chuckled uncomfortably.

The girl attached to her midsection quickly pulled backwards. "Oh! Sorry! I've just been stuck with a bunch of guys for the past two years and I'm really starting to hate it. They're so boring; they talk about such boring things." The girl made an exasperated face, slumping over and shaking her head.

Misty smiled. In a way she'd been a little afraid she'd be stuck with a bunch of guys too. The girl in front of her quickly straightened, her brown hair bouncing, a new and bright smile stretching across her face, making her bright and lively blue eyes shine.

"I'm May, by the way!" the girl said, holding out a hand for Misty to shake. "And that stoic idiot is Paul." The girl named May shot an annoyed look out of the corner of her eye at the boy, apparently peeved that he'd made no move to greet Misty yet.

Misty took May's hand and quickly shook it, daring a glance over at the boy who had yet to even acknowledge her presence. He had shaggy plum-colored hair and sharp black eyes which never once wavered from the screens in front of him.

"I'm Misty," she said, turning her attention back onto May. The brunette plopped back down into her rolling chair and motioned to a plastic one across from her.

"Sit sit! You're our new teammate! We need to get to know you!" Misty quickly scooted over to the chair and gently sat down, her heart rate still elevated. She was nervous, although she couldn't exactly place why; her team members seemed really nice so far… at least May did, anyway.

"Well, I'm from Cerulean… I grew up with my mother and three sisters..." she trailed off. Misty had no idea exactly what May had wanted to know, although she herself had questions slowly building in her own mind. She really wanted to know more about her job.

May seemed to take the hint and nodded. "Yeah, sorry, I'm sure you're probably kinda overwhelmed. I'm May Maple, I've been a Hunter for two years now, although I still haven't gone through training since we don't have enough team members." She rolled her eyes.

"Enough team members?"

May nodded. "A team of Hunters usually consists of either three or four people, usually four although with the decrease in volunteers nowadays we do have some three man teams." She let out another excited squeal and clasped her hands together. "I'm so excited! Now that we have three people, that means we can start training! We won't be stuck doing boring jobs like this, right Paul?" May glanced over at the boy who still hadn't moved an inch.

"Mm," he grunted.

May exaggeratedly rolled her eyes. "He's grumpy, like… all the time. It's kind of a drag. You can imagine how boring it is around here if I'm stuck doing stuff like this with him." May stuck out her tongue at Paul who didn't even acknowledge her insult. May shrugged. "I think he's just grumpy because he got some weird inscription when he turned eighteen. He still hasn't shown it to me; I bet it's something really embarrassing." Paul shot her a menacing glare and she snickered to herself. "Which reminds me; how old are you?"

"Seventeen," Misty replied. "Although, that'll be changing tomorrow."

May leaned forward in her seat with a grin. "Really? Tomorrow? You cut it close. So you'll be getting your inscription tonight then; you excited?" A sparkle lit up her eyes as she awaited Misty's answer.

An inscription, one of the region's other systems put into place to make things "easier". Every young adult on the morning of their eighteenth birthday woke up with a tattoo-like mark on their wrist of the first thing their future mate would ever say to them. Kanto had thought it easier and more efficient; people wouldn't spend or waste time dating if they simply knew what their partner's first sentence to them would be. Misty was excited, in a way, but she also thought it took some of the mystery out of the entire ordeal.

"Yeah, I guess," she replied with a shrug.

May chuckled. "Yeah, it's kinda nerve-wracking, but exciting." She held out her wrist for Misty to see. "I remember waking up with mine. I think I got ripped off, personally, I mean… is that even a word?"

Misty leaned forward and read 'Hmph' inscribed onto May's wrist in black cursive handwriting. "I think so… more of a sound. Kinda generic though; it might be hard to tell who it is with just a huff."

May nodded. "That's what I thought too, but turns out I don't think I've ever met someone whose first reply was just… hmph." May shrugged. "I was pretty upset at first but hey, at least it's unique."

Misty glanced over at Paul who was refusing to take part in the conversation. "So he doesn't want to share his?"

May shook her head. "I've been trying to find ways to read it but he's pretty good at hiding it. One day I'll find out what it says, Paul. One of these days." May giggled to herself before shaking her head. "Wow, we really got off topic, didn't we? So we know a little about you, I guess. We'll have forever to learn more! So do you have any questions for us to start out with? That paper there has basically all of the information you need about tomorrow and being a Hunter in general, although I'd be happy to answer any questions I can."

Misty took a deep breath. She did have loads of questions, everything from exactly what a Hunter's job was, to who would be training them, to where they were. She had no idea how to start; maybe reading the paper at home would just be easier. "Um, where are we?"

May pointed a finger at her. "Good question. Right now we're in the Hunter's Headquarters." Misty's eyes widened and May nodded. "Yeah, it's kinda small, huh? It's actually a lot bigger than it looks. There are a ton of hallways. It's really easy to get lost."

"Said from experience," Paul muttered with a smirk.

May shot him a glare but blushed. "Seriously. It's really easy to get lost."

"Is this where I'll come tomorrow?" Misty questioned, a light smile playing on her face. Paul was quiet, but at least he had a sense of humor. Maybe after a bit of time she'd be able to start befriending him too.

May nodded. "Yep! Same way you were led here. I think we're the… 143rd door up if I remember right. I dunno, if you get the wrong door it's not like it'll let you in anyway, just try them as you go and the one that opens is the one that you're supposed to go in."

"I can't get in those other doors?" Misty asked. Part of her excitement sank. She still sort of wanted to open each one and see what was inside.

"Nope. All doors are locked unless you have clearance. They probably marked you as cleared for this door and… maybe the first, in case you wanted to talk to Tracey."

Misty nodded. "Where do those other doors go, anyway?"

"Other Headquarters," May yawned. "The Department's building leads to every career choice's main building. Pretty nifty, although I feel bad for the people who work up on the four-digit floors, they must have leg muscles the size of rockets. It also kinda sucks when we get to go home; everyone's released at the same time so the staircase gets pretty crowded."

Misty slowly nodded to herself. So she'd be coming to the gigantic mirror building every day for the foreseeable future. She'd be coming in the same door and leaving through the same door. It'd be easy to remember, at least she hoped it would be. "So, you've been a Hunter for two years, although you haven't gotten any field work?"

May nodded again. "It's a real bummer, although it'll totally make up for it now. I can't wait to start training! A lot of people say it's drop-dead exhausting but honestly, I think it'll be fun."

"Mm." Paul again contributed to the conversation, no matter how minimal.

"In Paul-speak that means he's excited." May smirked as Paul again shot a glare at her before continuing. "I honestly don't know what training is going to be like. I guess we'll all find out tomorrow!"

Misty smiled. "So we'll be a team? At least that's what Tracey said...," Misty blushed. "Um… what's a team for?"

May raised an eyebrow. "That sheet of paper should tell you all about it, but in short, a team is the group of people you'll be working with until you retire. Again, usually three or four people, and we all stick together on missions and assignments. We'll also be being trained together so I'm assuming we'll be doing some team-building stuff."

Paul groaned at the mention of 'team-building' and May once again rolled her eyes. Misty wondered how May's eyes weren't sore if she'd been with Paul for two years and in just about five minutes she'd rolled her eyes around three times. "Will we be getting another teammate then? If it's usually four people to a team?"

May shrugged. "If another one comes around they'll probably be assigned to us, but who knows. And who cares!" May said, throwing her arms up in the air and spinning around once in her chair. "We finally get to do something!"

Misty smiled. She still had tons of questions but somehow figured that maybe reading the paper before pelting May with inquiries would be a better idea. Surely she'd be just as open to answering questions tomorrow as she was today.

"Anything else?" May asked sweetly, leaning forward and propping her chin in her hands.

Misty slowly shook her head. "No, I don't think so… I'll read this and then get back with you," she said, plucking the scroll off of her lap and looking at it closely.

May nodded. "Yep. That's probably a good idea. It'll have more credible stuff than I do. So read that tonight and get back with me tomorrow on questions! I'm sure you'll have time to ask me during training. Oh, and make sure to wear your uniform tomorrow too."

Misty for the first time truly took a look at what May and Paul were wearing. They were skin-tight and stretchy-looking navy blue uniforms. They had long sleeves and long pants with a brown and black belt tied around the hips. A zipper went up the front of the uniforms, and from what Misty could see, May wore a tank top underneath. They both had on black sneakers and May had her hair tied back with a red bandana, in bright contrast to her dark uniform. Misty nodded and May clapped her hands.

"Alrighty then! It sounds like a plan!"

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Misty flopped down on her bed with an exaggerated 'ugh'. She buried her face in the mattress and took a deep whiff of home. May had been right; when the buzzer had sounded for them to go home… the staircase had been a jam-packed mess. Thousands of people came flooding down the staircase, all pushing and shoving to get down and to the door the quickest. It'd taken half an hour to get out, even though coming up the stairs had only taken about five minutes. It was ridiculous.

Misty couldn't help but smile. She was actually excited. She'd start her job tomorrow and she'd already made at least one friend. May seemed to love her, although she couldn't tell about Paul… he was hard to read. Maybe he liked her… or maybe he hated her… she'd have to watch him closely to find out.

With a sigh she sat up on her bed, glancing over at her uniform which she'd flung over her desk's chair. It was great. She'd tried it on and it'd fit perfectly. She spotted a patch on the left shoulder of her uniform. It was a bright yellow shield-looking shape with a red cross in the middle. She wasn't sure what it meant; she'd have to ask May.

Speaking of asking May… Misty snatched the scroll of paper off of her nightstand and eagerly undid it. She'd been thinking about reading the scroll all the way through dinner with her sisters. They'd been more persistent about asking her things than she had been with May, and she hadn't been able to answer a lot of their questions. Although, they did seem happy that she was excited, which was nice.

Misty took a deep breath once the scroll was undone and began to read the contents.

_~The Bounty Hunters Union of Kanto (BHUK) welcomes you to our ranks. We look forward to your service and expect only the best._

_For the past decade the Bounty Hunters Union has come forth to serve the great region of Kanto without fail. Hunters are put through grueling and maturing tests of physical and mental strength and will and produce only the best results. Hunters have a highly regarded reputation among both the populace of Kanto and amongst high-ranking officials in other regions. We expect the best; do not disappoint._

_Hunters are the region's protectors and servants. Hunters are expected to always uphold five codes throughout their entire time in service, as well as after retirement: Strength, Perseverance, Honestly, Honor, and Humility. A Hunter will also abide by five rules of hand throughout their entire time in service, as well as after retirement (stated and explained during training of the Hunter)._

_Hunters are chosen amongst the best and most promising youths of Kanto, which is why the BHUK has continued to uphold a high and mighty reputation. We expect you to help us retain this reputation and build upon it; if you in any way, shape, or form fail to meet expectations, the highest of punishments will be administered. We accept only first-rate service._

_Upon choosing the path of a Hunter, youths will be assigned a team of either two or three other members with whom they will be trained, as well as who they will fight alongside. Hunters put their lives in the hands of the other members on their team, and therefore form unbreakable bonds with those members._

_With that team they will undergo training of the mind, body, and soul. Hunters, as the most acclaimed persons of the region, will each be entrusted with one of the Professors' Metal Vessels. Each Hunter will be trained upon usage and upkeep of the Vessel they are assigned and will use it as their weapon for either their or the weapon's life._

_Hunters are trained to take missions, both domestic and international, for both citizens and leaders. It will be a Hunter's job to carry out whatever task they are given without complaint or mistake._

_A Hunter, once fully trained, will then be at the military's disposal, serving Kanto's great leaders in whatever way they are told. Hunters will ultimately be used for capture and/or removal of fugitives and criminals, including but not limited to those who have betrayed their region._

_A Hunter and their team should be ready for departure or missions at any time of day or night, and should be able to perform their best under any circumstance._

_There are five ranks administered as the BHUK sees fit. Every hunter is categorized according to one of the five levels._

_Yellow- Kelima rank for new members of the BHUK._

_Orange- Keempat rank for members undergoing training of the BHUK._

_Red- Ketiga rank for members newly graduated from the training of the BHUK._

_Black- Kedua rank for members who have been in active duty serving the region._

_White- Pertama rank for members who are of highest regards and have demonstrated outstanding will and dedication to the Kanto region during duty._

_Rules and regulations regarding Hunters are subject to change. If this ever should occur, all Hunters will be notified immediately._

_If you should have any questions upon completion of this letter of service we prompt you to ask an official or training officer._

_We sincerely look forward to having you in our association. We eagerly await your service._

_~Signed- Lance Wataru (Head of the Bounty Hunter's Union of Kanto)_

Misty blinked a few times, rubbing her eyes and placing the paper back onto her nightstand as it curled back up into a cylinder. The letter had answered a lot of her questions, and the rest she figured would be answered in training. So Hunters were used as fighters… she'd known that. She was most excited by the prospect of receiving a Metal Vessel. How long would it be before she got one? Would it be on the first day of training, or would it be as far as a year away? How long did training last, anyway?

Misty felt her eyelids drooping. Yes, the letter had been informative, but also a bit boring, not only that but her first day had been exhausting; so much had happened.

She wavered, her entire body leaning back and forth as she struggled to keep her mind on her questions and not sleep, but she lost the battle, her body tipping sideways and landing on the bed with a thunk, thoughts of her eighteenth birthday –which was only a few hours away- the last thing on her mind as she had fast-paced dreams of weaponry and possibilities.

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_The 100 Prompts Up to 100 MCs Challenge- #77- backer &amp; The Mega-Prompts Challenge- #26- over 100,000 word multichap- current word count: 6,311_

**So there's the first chapter! *faints* I never write first chapters this long. XD As you can see, this story is going to be kinda different/weird in the world I'm having it take place in. Misty and May are gonna be pretty tough, eventually, to do the job, which should be fun. XD  
**

**I am so so sorry if this was confusing in any way. I have a really hard time explaining things in stories, so if you have _any _questions at all, please don't hesitate to ask! It's a bit of a futuristic world-ish so there will be weird technology such as the writing on the paper filling in itself. And a lot of questions will be answered in future chapters too. Can't give away too much now can I? ;D**

**Anyway, I would absolutely _adore _to hear what you thought of this! It's always wonderful to get some feedback, so anything you send me is much appreciated!**

**~Foxtail-chan**


	2. The Instructor

**Hello there and welcome to chapter 2! :D Uber sorry for the long break in between chapters. I had a lot to work out with this story (I was too trigger-happy to post the first chapter) but I believe I now have everything kinda situated. So updates should be more frequent. XD**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy! :D**

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_**Chapter 2: The Instructor**_

"Crap," Misty muttered to herself, frantically struggling with the zipper on the front of her new uniform as she peered down hallways, her quick walk slowly morphing into a run.

It was her second day working and first day of training and she was already lost. May hadn't been joking when she'd said that the Hunter's headquarters had a lot of halls. In fact, a _lot _was an understatement. There had to be hundreds, some narrow, some wide, all twisting and turning and confusing Misty the farther she went.

She'd woken up to a sound nearly as loud and piercing as an airhorn, also known as her sisters' singing. They'd burst into her room singing 'Happy Birthday' and wobbily holding a fat white-iced chocolate cake: Misty's favorite. It'd been a loud way to wake up, but after a belly full of cake, there were no hard feelings.

Her sisters insisted on giving her presents in the afternoon, after work, but that didn't stop them from gushing over how old Misty was and that they remembered when she'd been born or when she'd lost her first tooth. Even though their mother had passed away a while ago now, Misty sometimes felt like she had three mothers instead of one. Her sisters were very fussy when it came to her.

Without realizing it she'd spent much longer than she'd expected talking with her sisters and the hour hand inched ever-closer to the nine. She was late. Holy crap. And on her second day no less. _'Way to go,' _she'd hissed to herself as she burst out the door with her uniform half-on and her shoes untied, already breaking off into a sprint toward where she remembered the metal building to be, the paper she'd read last night along with a piece of toast hanging out of her mouth.

Luckily she'd remembered the way to the mirror building –although she figured she should start calling it the Department of Services- and had made it inside, up the stairs, and to the Hunter's Headquarters in a record-breaking amount of time. There were people milling about in the Department's building, unlike the day before when she'd first arrived. A few of them had given her weird looks as she panted and headed toward the staircase, while most paid no attention, as if watching an exhausted girl with her breakfast flopping out of her mouth was a daily scene. Although, for all Misty knew maybe it was; she could see people being late… surely.

She'd made it to the Hunter's quarters exactly on time. The day before, just like the main room of the mirror build- Department of Services, Hunter's Headquarters had seemed empty, although today there were a few strangers walking about in the headquarters. None of them gave Misty the light of day, looking very serious, as if whatever they were holding or wherever they were going was a life-or-death situation… which Misty assumed it wasn't. Surely.

She eventually found her way back to the room she'd met May and Paul in the day before. She peered inside to find it empty aside from an older gentleman sitting in the chair where May had been, swiveling lazily. Figures her team couldn't just happen to be in the same place.

She shoved the toast a little farther into her mouth and looked down the hallway. She heard voices… perhaps if she followed them she could ask for directions. Misty unrolled the scroll as she began to walk. She'd be starting training today, but nothing had informed her of where that training would be. She followed the voices as they grew louder and louder and finally led to a propped-open metal door.

She breathed a heavy sigh of relief as she spotted a crowd of young people wearing the same uniforms as she was, including May who was sitting criss-cross on the floor talking with another girl and giggling like crazy.

Misty hesitantly stepped into the room and immediately caught May's eye. "Ooh, over here! Look see, this is Misty!" May motioned her over and Misty quickly obliged, scurrying over to sit to the side of the two. The girl May had been talking to held out her hand with a smile.

"Hi, I'm Mei!" She gave a light laugh. "I'm pretty sure I've been told almost everything about you from May here. You sound like fun!" The girl had long brown hair tied up into two buns, one on either side of her head with a strand of hair cascading out of each, down nearly to her hips. She had bright blue eyes which seemed to smile and a small golden chain necklace to brighten up the otherwise rather dull uniforms.

Misty blushed and took the girl named Mei's hand. "Thanks? I hope it was all favorable," she said with a smile. Second day and it appeared she was making yet another friend. So far so good; Mei seemed like a nice enough person.

"Oh yeah, don't worry I only heard good things. Are you kidding? Like May would say anything bad about her new partner. She's been pining after a third team member for pretty much as long as I can remember." May puffed out her cheeks in annoyance as Misty let out a laugh.

"I think I hear your team calling you," May said sarcastically, sticking out her tongue at Mei. The girl rolled her eyes and waved a hand at May, shoving herself up to stand and brushing off her pants.

"Fine, fine, you want time with your new recruit, I get it." She sent both May and Misty a wink. "I'll be lookin' forward to working with you guys. This'll be so much fun!" With that she gave a small wave and turned on her heel, jogging over to the other side of the room and nearly tackling another person in a hug.

Only then did Misty take a quick sweep of the room. It was barren, that was for sure. It looked just like the rest of the Hunter's headquarters: metal floors, walls, and ceilings made out of pipes and other scrap metal, all giving off a blue tint which seemed to light the entire room. She did a headcount and came up with eight other people in the room besides May and herself.

"Wait," Misty said, looking back down to May. "She said we'd be working together? Isn't she in a different team?"

May nodded. "Yeah, she is, but a few teams go through training together. I think we're called… a squad or something. I dunno. But we'll be doing our training with two other teams so we'll be spending quite a lot of time with them." May nodded down to the scroll in Misty's hand. "Did you read that last night?"

"Yeah, I did," Misty breathed. "It answered a lot… posed a lot of questions too, though."

May chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, it's a little vague in places. Super boring if you ask me. I think I fell asleep five times while reading it." May laughed as if it were a joke but Misty sensed in her tone that it was probably closer to the truth than her teammate would like to admit. "Anyway, any questions I could answer real quick before our training officer gets here?"

Misty's eyes trailed to the side as she tried to reign in a singular question. "Actually… could I just kinda run what I know by you and you can tell me if I've got something wrong?"

May nodded. "Sure."

"Okay," Misty sighed. "So I signed up to be a Hunter. The job in a nutshell is taking requests and bounties from the region and serving as aide to the military?"

May leaned her head to the side. "Well, not exactly. Only some of the graduated Hunters work for the military. The ones that graduate training with high marks and do well on their first jobs are usually sent to the military for international things, while most of us will probably be getting domestic jobs. The Hunters who work for the military are usually dealing with stuff overseas that's "classified" so they try to only take the best and brightest, if you get what I'm saying."

Misty nodded. "Yeah, I do. So most likely our job will be carrying out requests here in Kanto?"

May nodded. "Just bounties for criminals and whatnot. Which is what they're doing overseas too, just more secretive," May said with an eyeroll. It appeared she found the way that the system worked to be either flawed or stupid. Misty decided not to press on it at the moment and instead continued.

"Alright. So that's the job, but now we're in training. This said training would be for the mind, body, and soul?" Misty trailed off, looking back down at her scroll.

May nodded. "I've heard some stuff about what training is, but honestly I think it'd be better to wait for our officer. He'll probably explain more." Misty looked up to May, confusion still in her eyes and May nodded. "Alright. So we're in training with these two other groups," she said, motioning to the others. "Alright our team is you, me, and Paul. That over there is team 32C and that consists of Mei, which you met earlier, her childhood friend Hugh," she said, pointing over to a boy with very unruly blue hair, "Lyra," she said, pointing back over towards where Mei was, standing next to another brunette who had a very large hat atop her head, "and Calem, which is… over there, behind Paul," May explained, jerking a thumb back over her shoulder to where Paul was conversing with a brown-haired and very nice-looking boy with sunglasses atop his head.

"They're all one team?" Misty asked.

"Yup. They've only been waiting for training for two months. Lucky ducks," May huffed.

Misty raised an eyebrow. "Really? Only two months and you said your team waited two years?"

May frowned and nodded. "Mei and Hugh joined at the same time, being put with Calem. So they had a three man team and were eligible for training right from the beginning. It was only luck they got Lyra at the last minute before training started. She came in a day before you I think and they must've overlooked our group or something. I don't know."

Misty's eyes flicked to the people May had pointed out, trying her best to memorize their names. "So we'll be working with them for a while?"

May nodded. "Yup!"

"Which brings me to another question: how long is training?"

"It depends," May shrugged. "It all depends on the instructor and how well we do. I'd say average is about… a year? I've heard two years isn't uncommon but one is probably a safe bet."

Misty's eyes widened for a moment. An entire year? She'd expected training to take a while, yes, but not that long. It'd be an entire year before she really even got to technically start her job? Well, she guessed she couldn't complain. May and Paul had been sitting idle for two years before this. Someone always had it worse. "Oh and who are the other people?" Misty asked, watching as a green-haired boy sauntered across the room.

"Beats me," May shrugged, also peering over at the other three people in the room who were sticking together for the most part. "They're team 4S I think. They've never worked on this level before, always one story up in Headquarters so I've never met them. Apparently they're really skilled though. Although, they don't look like anything special to me…," May trailed off with a frown.

Misty nodded. That team only had three members as well. She wondered how long they'd been waiting for training.

"Oh, but to finish," May said, clearing her throat and leaning backwards on her hands. "We'll be doing some physical training, some emotional training, and some training with the Vessels as well. All with these people who'll be our squad. I guess we're stuck with them for at least a year."

Misty's heart jumped at the mention of a Vessel. "So we'll be training with the Scientists' Vessels?"

May nodded. "Not at first, but yeah. I think we get them about halfway through. We've got to train with them before we're sent out on jobs, right?" May said with a wink. She seemed to sense Misty's excitement and nodded. "Yeah, I'm looking forward to it too. Oh, but go ahead and finish what you were running by me? We got kinda sidetracked."

"Oh yeah," Misty said, trying to remember where she'd been. She'd talked about what they'd be doing after they graduated, she'd gotten some new and valuable information about training, and she figured more would be answered by whoever their instructor was, and honestly… she didn't have too much beyond that. "I guess that's pretty much it," she admitted. "Oh, but it talked about ranks at the end of the note," Misty said, again motioning to her scroll. "What's that all about?"

May nodded. "It's partially just to make things easier for the Bounty Hunter's Union. We're Kelima ranks right now," she said, tapping on her shoulder where the yellow shield was emblazoned on her uniform. "That means we haven't been through training yet so no one should assign us real jobs or expect us to have Vessels." May grinned. "Although we'll be Keempat rank soon which is… I don't know what color it is but that means we're undergoing training. So basically we can't take missions still, but we may or may not have a Vessel."

Misty nodded eagerly. "So we'll be getting new uniforms?"

May shook her head. "Nope, they have some way of switching out the colors." May tugged on the shield on her uniform. "I honestly don't know how. I've tried to get this thing off for years but it won't budge. We should have the same uniform until we graduate, just different colored patches."

Misty gave a nod and took a deep breath. The day before it'd all seemed so complicated and overwhelming. Granted it still felt complicated and a little scary now, but it was a lot more… doable. It seemed less impossible and more like maybe a job she could get through without having a heart attack in the process. She'd have friends with her the entire time as well, well… May anyway, she wasn't sure if she could consider anyone else as a friend yet.

"Well aside from all that boring stuff," May said, leaning forward and taking Misty's hands. "Happy Birthday! How's it going so far?"

"Oh," Misty said with a grin. "Good Arceus I'd almost forgotten," she laughed awkwardly.

May playfully tsked at her. "You shouldn't be forgetting your own birthday, now. Especially your eighteenth! Which means…." She pointed down at Misty's arm.

That's right! It'd been her eighteenth birthday therefore when she'd awoken she should've had her Inscription! She'd been so startled by her sisters' singing in the morning and then eating as much cake as she could, followed by a near-sprint to her job, it'd slipped her mind. Without hesitation she furiously rolled up her left sleeve and tilted her head to read the elegant black cursive mark that was inevitably there.

_'__You want to pet 'im?'_

Misty stared at it for a moment, internalizing it before trying to place it to a possible situation. Her nose crinkled. What on earth would happen that the first words her mate would say to her would be… 'You want to pet him?'?

Misty, in the past, had sort of scoffed at Inscriptions. They were silly. They took all the fun out of it. But she had to admit she'd been awfully excited and her heart had been pounding awfully hard when she thought about looking at it. Although, she wasn't exactly sure whether she was satisfied with what it said or not.

"Hmm," May hummed. "I wonder what would happen for him to say that…."

Misty opened her mouth to respond but instead she was startled by a loud _'thwack' _and closed it again in surprise. All eyes turned to the back of the room where the sound had come from and found a tall and very burly blonde man standing in the doorway. He had beady black eyes that swept over the room like a plague as he took in every detail. The room's constant chatter quickly died down as all of the Hunters stared at the man, waiting for him to say something.

"Alright!" the man barked and nearly everyone in the room flinched, including Misty and May who scooted a little closer to each other. His presence was overwhelming. The man slammed the door shut behind him with a loud _'boom' _and stalked into the room, his thick black boots thunking heavily on the metal flooring. "My name is Lieutenant Surge," he barked, making his way to the other side of the room and swiveling around to face the crowd. "I'll be your commanding officer and your training officer for the entirety of your schooling as well as after you graduate. You will report to me and me only. You little kids better listen up and listen well because I only say things once! One time. One time only, and I don't take any crap. Anyone who wishes to defy what I say can go right ahead and haul ass out that door right now because that is not tolerated under my roof, am I clear?"

His eyes swept the room and everyone seemed to cower. It appeared he didn't have any objections and he nodded once. "Alright. This training will be grueling to you maggots so you better be ready for a hard time…," he said, his eyes sweeping the room once again. "But it'll be rewarding," he finished. "I'm sure you all knew that when signing up, though." He cleared his throat and opened a file folder in his hands that Misty had overlooked the first time, possibly because of his intensely terrifying stare.

As he looked down at the folder, flipping through a few sheets of paper, Misty brought her heartrate back down to a normal pace as best she could. She'd pictured her training officer to be tough but not… like this. This man had to be at least six five and looked as if he'd captured his muscles in his shirt and they were still trying to escape. He wore a camouflaged shirt with black pants and small silver dogtags hung around his neck. He looked like the sort of guy who could crush sculls in one hand, and he had the booming voice to back it up.

He looked up from the folder and Misty felt May flinch. It was comforting she wasn't the only intimidated one.

"Break off into teams and sit down in a straight line," Surge barked. There was a great scrambling in the room, everyone making it to where their teams were and quickly sitting down next to one another. Misty and May positioned themselves to face Surge and Paul sauntered over to take a seat on the other side of May.

Surge surveyed the line of young adults in front of himself before nodding and clearing his throat. "Alright, I know you all know a bit about what training is about but you don't know everything." His voice was a bit softer this time and Misty was glad. "Today's the first day of many, so we don't need to shove your little pea brains too full of information just yet. You'll learn lots of things in many different subjects, but this first day, and probably this first week, we'll be transitioning into it."

He looked across the line of students again before nodding. Apparently he was satisfied. "First thing's first. I'm Lieutenant Surge as I said earlier. Born and raised in Vermillion City I became a hunter just like you when I was sixteen. It was very different back then but the principles are the same. Graduated top of my class and served overseas with the military for twenty years. I came back here to teach pipsqueaks like yourselves because the Hunters Union was the best place I could've imagined being and I'd like the next generation to feel the same." He cleared his throat. "That's all you need to know about me. That's all you'll ever know."

And something told Misty he was telling the absolute truth and she wouldn't know a single thing more about him for the rest of her life.

"Next a few things to get out of the way. I will be your one and only training officer, however from time-to-time we will have guests, either helping us out or observing. Give them the utmost respect and show your best when they're here. Your performance reflects on me, y'know." He shut the folder with a smack before tucking it under his arm. "This is room C39. This will be the room you report to every day at nine thirty sharp until you have graduated. We will do all of our training in here, and outside in our designated area. So get used to it. This is your new home." He motioned around himself.

"Like I said before, you better abide by my rules or Arceus help your poor soul for the punishment." May and Misty both gulped lightly. "You better be here on time or have a valid excuse for absence sent in to the Department by at least five in the morning. That's rule number one." He sighed.

"Anyway, what we'll be doing today is short and simple. You all losers aren't gonna learn any of the actual meat of the course today, but instead start developing something else which sounds pansy-ass but is crucial to a team: teamwork. Simple. You all are part of the same squad so let's all start acting like one. Having rifts in teams or squads can cause not only trouble, but put you and your members in grave danger if on a job so keep your shit together and don't fight with one another, alright?" he barked.

Misty and nearly everyone else in the room nodded vigorously even though Surge had been rather vague and she was nearly positive it'd been a rhetorical question.

"Okay so first step to teamwork is getting to know you kids. I'm sure you're all pretty familiar with your own teams, aside from the two newbies we have," he said, nodding once towards Lyra and once towards Misty who shrunk a little under the pressure of his gaze. "But you all don't know the other teams too awfully well. This is very redundant so I'll keep it short, but let's get the introductions over with. Alphabetically by last name," Surge barked, taking the folder out from underneath his arm and studying its contents again. "N Harmonia."

The boy sitting directly to Misty's right raised his hand. He'd been completely quiet thus far, not flinching or nodding or really much of anything. Misty found herself scooting closer to May and farther away from the boy, simply because she didn't know him. Although now, she knew his name. N? Like the letter?

Surge nodded, looking down at the paper. "N Harmonia, born and raised in Northern Unova by his father. Immigrated here at the age of seventeen to immediately join the Bounty Hunter's Union. Stood out in all respects and within the first week was put into his elite team." He nodded, as if impressed. "It's nice to meet you, son."

The boy looked a little shocked, blinking to himself as if he wasn't sure what to do before lowering his hand and giving a quiet nod. The girl on the other side of N elbowed him, pointing at the corner of her mouth to remind him to smile. Misty watched in horror as the most awkward smile she'd ever seen was forced upon N's face. He looked like he'd just eaten something sour, or maybe stubbed his toe. It was… not a smile. Did he not know how to smile?

Surge stared at the boy before apparently deciding to move on, not wanting to address whatever monstrosity of a facial expression had just occurred. "Hugh Hyuu!" Farther down the line, the boy with crazy blue hair sitting next to Mei raised his hand. Misty leaned forward so she could see down the line and at the boy. "Hugh Hyuu, born in Aspertia City during the Plasma uprising. Moved with his mother and younger sister to Kanto. Joined as a Hunter when he was sixteen, with fellow recruit Mei Rosa. Both were placed in team 32C and he has done well, but not exceptional, since." Hugh lowered his hand and Surge gave him a nod of recognition. Misty didn't miss the completely bored look on Hugh's face. As if perhaps he was utterly uninterested, if not a little peeved he was having to be introduced.

Surge cleared his throat, tracing a finger down the sheet in his folder. "Lyra Kotone!" There was a surprised squeak and the girl with the hat that May had pointed out to Misty straightened, raising her hand. "Born in Johto. Parents moved to Kanto when she was nine months old. Has no public record of activity until she was seventeen and applied to an artists' guild. She was rejected, and instead joined the Hunter's association." Surge frowned deeply, and Misty could nearly hear this thoughts: he wasn't pleased that being a Hunter hadn't been Lyra's first job choice. "Joined team 32C last week. No one knows her strengths and weaknesses yet." He looked up and Lyra flinched again. Misty sensed she was trying her hardest to keep her composure. "Loose the hat. No hats allowed," Surge barked, moving onto the next name.

"Yes sir!" she squeaked, immediately nearly throwing it off of her head.

Misty didn't miss the fact that all three of the people introduced all had immigrated to Kanto. She looked over her shoulder at May with question, mouthing the word 'other regions' as a question. May nodded, holding up a finger and letting her know that after it was over, she'd explain. Misty hadn't expected a single student to be from another region. Bounty Hunters were Kanto's pride…

"May Maple!" May shot up straight, raising her hand with a smile. Surge made eye contact before beginning. "May Maple. Born in Hoenn, to former Gym Leader Norman. Moved to Kanto as a small child with her younger brother and parents. Joined when she was seventeen and has been working on a two-man team for the past two years…" Surge trailed off, his eyebrows raising in surprise at the amount of time she'd been awaiting training. He looked back up to her before nodding. "I apologize for the wait."

May laughed awkwardly, waving a hand to dismiss him and to say it was fine before he moved on.

So May wasn't even from Kanto…

"Mei Rosa!"

"Here~!" Mei called from all the way down the line, raising a hand with a grin.

Surge looked slightly caught off-guard that she'd answered him but continued in stride. "Mei Rosa, born in Unova in Aspertia City. Moved to Kanto with Hugh Hyuu and her mother. Applied to be a Hunter the same day Hugh applied, and has been seen with him ever since. Also has not had any outstanding strengths or weaknesses noted." Mei gave Surge a thumbs up and he stared for a moment, looking as if he was contemplating scolding her before shaking his head and moving on with a sigh.

"Paul Shinji!" Misty's gaze swept the other way, as Paul raised his hand next to May. He looked just as bored, if not more so than Hugh had. Although, if the past day was any indicator, Paul was just quiet and stern, not really unenthused. "Born in Sinnoh. Moved to Kanto on his own at age eight. Enrolled with the Enforcement Agency and got a job as a Police Officer, before being recommended for transfer to the Hunter's Union. He did not object, and was transferred two years ago to be placed in a two-man team." Surge looked up and made the connection between Paul and May forming that two-person team. He looked a little confused, if not curious about Paul… but apparently decided once again not to voice any of his opinions.

"Drew Shu!" A boy a few down from Misty, who had green hair nearly matching N's raised his hand. He was another from the team May hadn't known much about… Rather than the fact that they were considered a more elite team. "Drew Shu. Born-"

Surge was cut off as Drew interrupted. "Grew up moving around a lot, although I would like to call Hoenn my first home. I was put into team 4S after showing exemplary skill in certain school subjects that pointed toward the job of a Hunter." He paused for a moment, looking up and down the line of his pupils lazily before shrugging and blowing his hair out of his face. "I'd _hoped_ my team would be placed with more… _acceptable _teams that would actually stand to aid us but it seems we'll be helping along the slow students."

There were many annoyed sounds and scoffs amongst the room, even Misty felt a twinge of irritation toward the boy. Who did he think he was? It was glaringly obvious he had some sort of hair up his butt because he was considered "elite", which just made him more annoying. The mutters continued, although no one apparently wanted to actually argue with the boy… well, no one except May, who stood up in a blur to point down accusingly at him. He'd definitely gotten under her skin. "Hey! Just because you're in some "elite team"," she said, rolling her eyes as if the title was a joke, "doesn't mean that you're anything special, you grasshead, and you'll figure it out. We're all just as good as your stupid team, if not better, and we'll be sure to prove it!"

Drew stared up at her for a moment, his haughty facial expression wavering for only a second before he again tossed some hair out of his face with a nonchalaunt, "Hmph."

"Sit down!" Surge thundered and May jumped in shock. "Speak only when in turn. Do not fight with your comrades." Drew let out a smirky snort as May sat back down angrily with a thud, crossing her arms. "And _never _interrupt me when I'm talking," Surge finished, his reprimand this time aimed at Drew.

Misty slowly looked over to her partner to make sure she was alright. For some reason Drew's words must've resonated with something in May to really tick her off. Although, Misty didn't have a guess as to what. She noticed May didn't look as angry anymore, as much as completely shocked. Her eyes were as wide as saucers and her face was red as a beet as she rocked back and forth slowly. Misty leaned over farther to get a better look at May's face. Yup, she was definitely looking a little flustered. Why? Was it because she'd completely lost her temper – which seemed a little out of character from what Misty knew of May- and gotten in trouble in the middle of her first day of training? Was she afraid she'd made a fool of herself?

It was then that Misty noticed May was rubbing her thumb across her left forearm as she rocked and slowly but surely she made the connection, and her eyes shot open wide. May had said she hadn't ever interacted with team 4S before, so those were probably the first words she'd ever spoken with that Drew guy. And therefore, the first words she'd heard as well. And sure enough, his response hadn't been anything exactly normal, instead a _'Hmph.' _Which had been what May's inscription had said. Just a huff. No words.

Misty looked over at Drew then to see he also had his arms crossed, eyes closed, and didn't look as if he was phased in the least. In fact, he looked like he was asleep.

Misty looked back to May. Was she alright? What a way to find out who your future husband was going to be. Their first conversation was a bit of a fight. What an odd way to find out. Misty hoped hers would be a little more… normal. Although she still hadn't been able to think of a situation for her Inscription.

Instead of focusing on it too much she turned back to listen to who was called next. She needed to talk with May afterwards about more than one thing now. About all the immigrants from other regions in their class, and also the Inscription… maybe May had talked to Drew before without realizing it and he wasn't the one after all… or maybe he just wasn't the one period. She hadn't heard of someone going against their Inscription, mainly because it truly was a "soul mate" and they usually hit it off right away, but she supposed it could happen.

"White Touko!" The last member of team 4S raised her hand. She sat between Drew and N, looking like a very normal civilian situated between two crazy bookends. "White Touko. Born and raised in Nuvema Town with friends Bianca and Cheren, whom are both already undergoing Hunter training in a different squad." Surge looked genuinely surprised. "Moved to Kanto when she was fifteen, immediately showing her skills in all areas, and quickly relocated to the elite forces." Surge gave her an approving nod and she lowered her hand.

That was almost everyone… Misty figured she was probably the next. "Misty Waterflower!" She jumped nonetheless, despite guessing her name would be called. She raised her hand shakily. "Misty Waterflower, born in Cerulean City and raised by her mother and three sisters, the former leaders of the Cerulean City Gym. Had high marks in school, and joined the Hunter's Union yesterday, the day before her eighteenth birthday." Misty noticed the surprised look on Surge's face that came with the realization she'd only gotten her job one day before her birthday came and she was forced to have one. She wasn't sure if that was the best impression to give to a man like this who seemed to have a never-ending work-ethic, but he didn't seem too phased, instead giving her a nod and moving on to the last member.

"Calem Xavier!" The boy with the sunglasses atop his head raised his hand. "Calem Xavier. Born in Kalos. Traveled with his family around the globe before finally settling in Kanto. At first objected to being a Hunter, although his parents forced him into the career. Has since had a good attitude and gotten high praise from his seniors." Surge looked up to Calem who gave him a genuine smile in return. "Loose the glasses," he barked, not giving Calem the light of day.

Ouch, it seemed Surge didn't like that he hadn't wanted to be a Hunter.

With that Surge smacked his folder closed again, putting his fists on his hips as his eyes narrowed. He looked up and down the line, scrutinizing, before he gave on nod. "I welcome you to the life of Hunter. I can guarantee you it is rewarding and it will be an experience you remember forever. You ten will be in a squad together for the rest of your working lives. You may not work in close-quarters with the other teams, but you will still be considered as a single squad, and could possibly be assigned missions as such. For the next year or longer, you will be being trained together. I cannot stress enough how much you all need to get comfortable with one another. You trust a friend with your back more than you would a stranger."

Surge stepped forward, clomping in his boots as he walked over towards the door again. Misty's head turned mechanically as she watched him. He heaved open the metal door to their training room before giving a single nod. "For today, you will return to your regular posts. This will be the last day as such, so take it all in. You will turn in your uniforms at the end of the day. They will be returned to you tomorrow, as you will enter a new rank and our training will officially begin. More details will be given tomorrow." He motioned for everyone to stand and they followed in suit. "You will be released two hours early today and most everyday forward during training. The Union encourages members of the same teams and squads to interact outside of training and work, to form closer bonds. No, this is not optional. You must spend time with your fellow Hunters in this class in the outside world. Use your two free hours –if not extra time- to do so." Surge looked as if it pained him to give such a trivial assignment. "Get close with your peers and get outta here," he barked, standing straight and motioning out the door.

* * *

_cwc: 12,472_

**So there it is! I hope you enjoyed! I'm hoping to tie in a lot of canon characters into this story somehow. We have a nice little array of protagonists from different regions, as well as Lieutenant Surge now. Along with Tracey from the last chapter of course. XD**

**Lookie, the first little hints of Contestshipping are taking place *rubs hands together*. It'll be a little bit before Pokeshipping arrives, so Contest will be the main pairing for a bit. However, Misty is our main character so she'll of course have the spotlight pairing wise. I'm rambling... someone stop me. XD**

**Once again if anything was at all confusing I sincerely apologize and feel free to ask questions! However, all will be revealed and answered in due time, so hopefully I'll eventually have all bases covered. XD**

**Thank you so much for the amazing reviews and whatnot last chapter! They were amazing! I'm very curious as to what others think when reading, especially for AUs like this one. :D**

**~Foxtail-chan**


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